So, What's For the Most Important Dinner of the Year?

Meal planning is a hassle.  Trying to come up with dinner every night, never mind finding the energy and motivation to cook the meal can be a challenge.  But what happens when you triple the guest list, up the expectations and raise the potential disaster level?

Yes - I am cooking Christmas dinner.

My parents and my sister's family will be joining us for this all important meal.  There are some restrictions - a few allergies, low salt, no seeds - but nothing too daunting.  The more important issue is coming up with an appropriately festive menu.

Tradition in our family means lasagna and filet mignon.  Both things center on beef so I don't want to spend hours preparing a meal that I can't even eat.  Not having pasta on Christmas would be like not having a tree (which would be fine with me - the tree is some much work and totally over-rated) but I can easily replace the meat lasagna with manicotti or ravioli and no one will complain.  Replacing the filet mignon would be a harder sell.  I could not serve a completely meatless meal.  That would not be fair to my guests.  It is my choice not to eat meat, not theirs.  I think I would be comfortable cooking the beef and serving it, though if it bothers me at the last minute I know Matt will pick up the slack.  I just need to come with side dishes that I can eat as a main course and not feel cheated and that still accompany the rest of the foods we have.  No one meal should require this much brain power!

On the other hand, I am so grateful to have this problem.  I have a wonderful family that enjoys spending time together, a house to hold all these people, and the luxury of choosing the food I want to eat.  Nothing like the stress of a big family dinner to remind you of all the good things.

I guess if all else fails, I will have Christmas cookies.  Cookies and milk make everything better.

Gobble, Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving all!

This will be my first turkey-less Thanksgiving and I must admit I am a little nervous.  We always spend the holiday with my sister-in-law, who is an amazing cook.  She has been so sweet about my new dietary restrictions.  She checked with me last week to see what I would and would not eat and is planning a special main dish for me.  I was uncomfortable with the attention at first, but I know she will be much happier knowing I can enjoy a delicious meal and not have to pick around what she normally serves for the holiday meal.  And she promised to have peppermint Oreos!  What more could I want?

So, why I am nervous?  We don't spend a lot of time with my husband's family since they live in another state.  Thanksgiving is our one main visit with them every year.  I don't want to deal with the questions and the comments.  I am terrible at defending myself and I despise confrontation.  Maybe I am worrying unnecessarily.  Maybe no one will notice or make any snide comments and we will just have a pleasant meal.

If not, I will drown my troubles in cookies.

If Elected, I Promise No Gratuitous Food Shots

Happy Election Day!  This is a great day.  Not only do we get to express democratic principles, but we will now get a break from the incessant phone calls, flyers, political ads and, best of all, shots of candidates eating food they don't like.

The local food stop is a classic campaign photo op.  Whether its cheese steaks in Philadelphia, pizza in Iowa (really?) or pie in New Hampshire, candidates roll into some local eatery famous for hosting candidates, take a bite of the specialty of the house for the cameras, and move on to the next event.

This whole things bothers me on so many levels.  First, I feel bad for all the unsuspecting patrons in the restaurant.  Sometimes they are vetted supporters who want nothing more than to watch their political hero lick an ice cream cone, but most of the time they look ordinary folk just trying to enjoy their morning cup of joe.  Second, what if the candidate doesn't like rhubarb pie or pineapple pizza or bison burger?  Too bad - just chew and smile.  Are there no vegetarians running for office?  Worst of all, the waste.  You know that cook made something really special when he got the call that the candidate and all the press would be showing up at his establishment.  Does anyone sit down and enjoy the meal the way it was intended?  Of course not!  They shovel a couple of bites, make sure the cameras were rolling, and leave.  All that hard work, heading for the trash can.

If I ever run for office (which will be never, but still I think about these things) I will have to find some other photo op.  I won't eat the steak, I don't like pie, and I cannot imagine what they do to pizza in Iowa.

O Canada - Happy Thanksgiving!

The second Monday in October may be Columbus Day to us, but in Canada, it is Thanksgiving.  From what I understand, Thanksgiving in Canada is a lot like Thanksgiving in the United States - get stuck in traffic, eat so much you feel sick and spend so much time with your family that you hate them.  The menu is even similar - turkey, pumpkin everything, au gratin as much as possible.

Other than maple syrup and Tim Horton's, I know nothing about Canadian food.  Is there even such a thing?  I am a big fan of the theme meal, so I thought I could make a little something Canadian for dinner yesterday.  I did some research.

And discovered poutine.

Never heard of it?  French fries, brown gravy and cheese curds.  To be good, the cheese curds have to squeak.  I am frightened by food that squeaks.  This is not the same things as cheese fries, not only because of the gravy, but because melty, shredded cheese is some sort of sacrilege to good poutine.

But then again, poutine sounds like some kind of sacrilege to good eating.

Supposedly, the saying goes that the best time to eat poutine is at 3:00 am, which I can understand.  It sounds like something that would taste delicious after a night of being out way too late.

I think I will stick to syrup and those doughnuts with the maple leaf shaped sprinkles.

Colored Eggs and Ham

Last weekend, I hosted Easter dinner for some of my extended family, 10 diners in all.  Among my guests, diet restrictions galore: gluten free, lactose intolerant, low-salt, Passover observance.  Add in some seriously picky eaters and others who demand certain foods for certain holidays (Easter = ham or lamb), my vegetarian needs were pretty low on my list of criteria for choosing a menu.

I made a ham, but I did not eat any of it.  For my first major holiday since I gave up meat, I was happy with this compromise.  I also served a chick pea rice pilaf which I ate as my main dish, but other people tried it and seemed to enjoy it.  I started with a leek and potato soup and an antipasto platter (a must at all Brown family events).  I served carrots, string beans, asparagus and baked potatoes.  My mother brought candy for the kids and some Peeps ended up in the microwave.  No one went home hungry and no one complained.  Trust me, this group would have let me know if there was a problem.

Most importantly, no one asked me about the vegetarian thing.  My eating was not a topic of conversation.  I was grateful.  My family can be pretty hard on anyone trying something different, so it was a big step.  I will see if that remains true when I go over to someone else's house for a holiday.